Software Visualization using the City Metaphor: Students' Perceptions and Experiences

Software visualization is a program comprehension technique that can support activities such as the analysis of the quality during the evolution of development. The empirical evaluation of software visualizations is necessary to provide evidence of perceptions and experiences of use, and the benefits provided during software analysis. Empirical data can help evidence the advantages and limitations of software visualizations, improving their acceptance in academia and industry. This study presents an analysis of the perceptions of 16 participants using a 3D city metaphor visualization to understand the structure of a web application and identify aspects related to development and quality best practices in a software engineering university course. For this, we studied the user experience through the UE Questionnaire (UEQ) and the ease of use, the perceived usefulness, and the intention of future use through the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). Finally, benefits and opportunities were identified based on the perceptions of the participants and the results of the activity. The results indicate that the visualization of the city can support comprehension activities and help identify improvements in development and quality practices. Furthermore, this tool was positively perceived in the context of software engineering courses. Most of the acceptance and experience constructs were evaluated positively, with some opportunities identified regarding ease of use and visualization comprehension. In general, the visualization helped identify possible opportunities required for software applications under review.